Cast shoe



July 17, 1962 D. A. COOL 3,044,463

CAST SHOE Filed May 25, 1959 IN V EN TOR.

DELBERTA. Cool.

United states Patent 3,044,463 CAST SHOE Delbert A. Cool, Box 24,Ferdig, Mont. Filed May 25, 1959, Ser. No. 815,478 2 Claims. (Cl. 12880)This invention relates to surgical appliances and more particularly to awalking leg cast.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe for a walkingcast that will enable the patient to more readily walk with the castupon his leg and without danger of damaging the cast applied thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cast shoe of theabove type which may be readily conformed to the size and shape of thepatients foot and which will not interfere with the application of thecast to the rest of the leg.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a walking cast shoebearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has aminimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efficient inoperation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a walking oast shoe made in accordancewith the present invention in actualouter sole member 16. The inner solemember 12, While a being of slightly smaller size than the outer solemember 16, is of substantially identical shape, thus enabling the castto be applied and to extend to the same outline as the outer sole 16, ina manner hereinafter more fully de scribed.

The inner sole member 12 is maintained in spaced apart parallelrelationship with the outer sole 16 by means of a plurality oftransverse spacers 14 which threadedly receive securement bolts orscrews 22 that have heads received within counter-bores 20 in the bottomof the outer sole 16. The lowermost surface of the outer sole 16 insubstantially flat, except for a downwardly projecting rocker portion 18of simple curvature that is intermediate the heel and toe portions ofthe outer Patented July 17, 1962 sole 16. This rocker element 18 enablesthe wearer to rock the cast during forward movement, to facilitatewalking and to keep the cast above the level of the ground.

- In actual use, the inner sole member 12 is placed in contact with thefoot which has been first covered with a sock. The space between thenatural arch of the foot and the inner sole 12 is filled with castplaster, which plaster is also used to fill the space between thetransversely extending ribs 14, as the cast 15 is built up around theinner sole 12. The outer sole 16 is then applied to the bottom of theinner sole and secured to the ribs 14 by means to the screws 22. Theground engaging surface of the outer sole 16 may then be covered with alayer of rubber or plastic tread to prevent slippage and to increase thecomfort to the patient. With the cast shoe so applied to the cast, itprevents damage to the cast and may be removed and replaced at any timewithout removing the cast.

While various changes may be madein the detail construction, it shall beunderstood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A cast shoe comprising, in combination, an inner sole, an outer sole,spacer means supporting said inner sole in spaced apart parallelrelationship with said outer sole, rocker means integral with said outersole, said outer sole being of slightly larger size and substantiallyidentical shape as said inner sole, and said spacer means comprising aplurality of longitudinally spaced apart and transversely extending ribsintegral with said inner sole, said rocker means comprising a downwardlyextending projection, said projection having a simple curvatureintermediate the opposite ends of said outer sole.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said downwardlyextending projection of simple curvature of said outer sole has acentral longitudinal axis extending substantially transversely of thelongitudinal axis of said inner and outer soles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHERREFERENCES Lewin Zimmer Catalog, Feb. 1, 1947, page 116.

(CQPY 1n Scientific Library.)

